The General Chapter of the Legion of Christ issued a special statement in conjunction with the announcement of its new central government. The statement renews the Legion’s commitment to continue on the journey of conversion and renewal which “has advanced, but has not yet ended.”

Fr. Eduardo Robles Gil, LC, the newly elected General Director of the Legion, summarized the intention of this statement in the following way: “The Chapter marks both an ending and a new beginning. This is what many of the chapter fathers feel and that’s how we have expressed it in the chapter hall. But, so that it can truly be a new beginning, it is necessary to put the challenges of the past in their place. This is why the Chapter decided to publish a statement for the Legionaries, the members of Regnum Christi and for all those who have been following our recent history. We can’t erase the past. We have to learn the lessons, mourn what occurred, trust in God’s mercy and, like St. Paul, run forward in pursuit of the goal of reaching Christ.”

Included is a pronouncement regarding Fr. Marcial Maciel, with an apology to those who were hurt by him, as well as anyone hurt by the Legion congregation as a whole.

There is a summary of what has been learned of Fr. Maciel’s misbehavior to date, how his actions influenced the Legion and what the Legion is doing in light of these discoveries. The chapter fathers extend various apologies to “all those who in one way or another were hurt by the sad events of these years and our shortcomings.”

The text also contains a summary of the conclusions of two special Legion commissions on “Outreach” and “Economic Affairs.”

The responsibility of the Outreach Commission, established by Cardinal De Paolis in January 2011, was to attend to “the persons that have requested a response from the Legion of Christ because of the events that have a direct or indirect relation with Fr. Marcial Maciel.”

The Economic Affairs Commission was established by Cardinal De Paolis in February 2011 to analyze “the handling of funds and the financial situation of the Congregation.”

In the statement, the chapter fathers repeatedly express their awareness that there is still much to be done before the conclusion of “this process of renewal and conversion.” One of the reflections in the document states: “All of this demands of us not only a change in legislative texts, but also a continual conversion of mind and heart.”